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NOTES ON THE CHACMA BABOON, AND THE 

 MAANHAAR JACKAL, &o. 



By Dr. S. Schonland. 



Director of the Albany Museum, Graharnstown, South Africa. 



Supplementing the editor's article on the Chacnia Baboon 

 (ante, p. 29), I may state that this animal has now become a regular 

 scourge in some parts of Cape Colony, for a quite unexpected 

 reason. It is perfectly notorious that it has largely taken to killing 

 lambs, for the purpose chiefly of sucking the milk with which they 

 have filled their stomachs. The reason that it has, if anything, 

 increased in the colony during recent years is twofold. Firstly, 

 the alarming spread of the prickly pear (Opuntia sp.) in some dis- 

 tricts has provided it with almost impenetrable shelter and abun- 

 dant food, as it is very fond of the fruit and also eats the leaves. 

 Secondly, it has become so cunning that only by means of artful 

 manoeuvres can one get a shot at it. A friend of mine, whose 

 wife could approach a troop of Baboons without disturbing 

 them, borrowed one day her cloak and hat and then went out. 

 They let him approach to within very close quarters, and two of 

 them were shot before the remainder got into shelter. Some- 

 times the farmers of a district combine and during the night sur- 

 round their sleeping-place. As soon as the day breaks and the 

 Baboons try to escape they are shot down in large numbers ; but 

 this method of reducing their ranks is not always practicable. 



The Baboon is not the only South African animal which has 

 during recent times changed its habits. Thus, the so-called 

 " Wet-gat Spreouw," Spreo bkolor, was formerly never known to 

 touch fruit, its food consisting entirely of insects, but during 

 recent years it has, at all events on some farms with which I am 

 acquainted, become very destructive to fruit. Another case, 

 which possibly comes under the same category, is that of the 

 Maanhaar Jackal, Proteles cristatus. The Cape Government was 

 paying a high reward for the destruction of this animal, because 

 it was supposed to be destructive to small stock. I protested 



